Interphase FISH Studies of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

This chapter deals with the application of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to study interphase nuclei from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In our experience, FISH for BCR/ABL fusion detects all forms of the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome (1 ,2 ). FISH is a valuable adjunct to conventional cytogenetic studies and can be applied to the same preparations. Because FISH is useful for quantifying proliferating neoplastic cells in metaphase and non-proliferating cells in interphase, it is particularly useful in assessing response to therapy using either peripheral blood or bone marrow (2 ,3 ). This chapter discusses ways to gain experience and validate all aspects of FISH-based testing with BCR and ABL probes. In addition, methods for assuring quality are discussed for FISH-based testing with the BCR and ABL probes used in routine clinical practice.